Device for driving or positioning hails ob the like where desired



J. P. DUBOSH. DEVICE FOR DRIVING OR POSITIONING NAILS OR THE LIKE WHERE DESIRED.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1918. 1,307,043. Patented June 17, 1919.

nmmn I I I J.P.DUBOSH. DEVICE POI? DRIVING 0R POSITIONING NAILS OR THE LIKE WH ERE DESIRED.

APPLICATION FILED AFR.30| I918.

1,307,043. Patented June 17, 1919.-

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TIONING NAILS OR THE UK APPLICATION FILED APRJO. I918.

DEVICE FOR DRIVING OR POSI E WHERE DESIRED.

Patented J 11116 17, 1919.

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dorm r. DUBosH, or FALL mvmmassaceesemi DEVICE FOR DRIVIN'GOB POSITIONING NAILS OR THE; LIKE WHERE DESIRED.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 17, 1 919.

Application filed April 30, 1918. Serial No.'231,624.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. DUBOSH, a subject of the Austro -I*Iun arian Govern- 1nent,residin at Fall River, 1n the county of Vhere Desired, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The ob] ect of my invention. is to provide a manually operated, as distinguished from a motor driven nailer using string nails.

IVhile it is primarily designed for repairing boots and shoes, it is to be understood that it can be used in shoe factories, although it would not likely displace the motor-driven nailer there employed. It may be conveniently and easily grasped and: held in one hand in operative position, and while the power required to drive and'cut off the nail of the string, may be furnished by a hammer blow brought about, for example, by the other hand. Its construction is simple, strong and durable; and permits its being easily taken apart or put together. Its cost of manufacture is small, and its purchase within the means of oob-blers and small re pairers. \Vith it, 128 nails per minute have been successfully driven; in fact, it will operate as fast as a man can hammer the device.

By means of this device, nails may be driven from the inside of a boot o-r shoe, eX- cepting, however, the ball or the toethereof. This is a great advantage. For instance, a counter may be'nailed from the inside, to secure it to the sole underneath the heel, without first removing the heel from the sole.

This nailer also does away with the common habit among cobblers, of holding in their mouths separate steel nails ready for use. Consequently no dirt is conveyed to the mouth, and the teeth cannot become worn or blackened.

Further, the possible hammering and injury of the fingers are obviated by the use of this device.

That its usefulness would be of immense value in repairing army boots and shoes near thebattle front, will become apparent, especially when one appreciates the fact that many of the soldiers could themselves use to do their awn repairing, and that of others.

-" is also to tapmieeltny noted-that utility does not depend upon its adaptability for use in the art of making boots and shoes of leather. It may be used for driving nails or equivalent articles, into any suitable malielrial, such as leather, rubber, wood or the In short, the broad purpose of my invention is to provide means, 'embodyin the principle of my invention, whereby a blow, manual or not, will cause said means forcibly to drive from within itself, a piece of material and deliver it at a. particular place, or in a particular position; and although the claims hereinafter made, may appear to be directed toward a manually-operated nail.- ing machine, it is to be understood they contemplate any deviee or machine embodying the principles of my invention, and capable of being put to any use now known or unknown.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best known means now known to me, of embodying the same i operativ structure,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the nailer held by one hand of the operator, in working position upon the sole of the shoe, and about to be struck by hammer head for the purpose of driving a'nail into the sole, and severing the nail from its string of nails;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the naller, the head of the nail-driving rod having been broken off Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the method of using a nailing gage and welt lifter;

Figs. 4t, 5 and 6 show in elevation respectively, the front and opposite sides of the nailer;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal cross section on the line 77 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal view, partly in vertical section; the front half of the shell or frame having been removed;v

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section on line 99, Fig. 4;

Fig. 10 is a section on line 1010 Fig. 8;

c Fig. 11 shows how by using an extension rod. the nailer may be used inside a boot; I

Figs. 12, 13, 14 and 15 illustrate a modified but preferred form of cutting means embraced in my invention I a v Fig. 12 being the frontview; Fig. 13 the rear; Fig. 14 a side view;

I, Fig. 15 longitudinal view partly' in sectionjth'e front shell. havingbeen removed. A

portions 1, 2, Figs. 1, 5, 6, 8 and-9, similar but of opposite formation, constitute the supporting frame of the device. lVithin these shcllsare a string-nail channel 3, Figs. 1 and 8, and a guide-way 4 for a nail-driving rod 5; the channel and guide-way converging downwardly and uniting near the base of the devloe to form an outlet 6 through whlch the nails of a str1ng-7 are to,

be successively driven.

Inthe lower portion of the nail channel.

are mounted two flat controlling spring plates 8, 8, Figs. 8 and 10, held in place by a screw 9, and so positioned that the string of nails may be passed downward between, but in engagement with them, and there held frictionally; the driving. end 10, 0f the nail-- driving rod 5 preventing any upward withdrawal of the string of nails, by engaging the head of the nail 11. An unlocking cam 12, Figs. 8 andl2, lies between these plates, and by a movement of an arm 13, Figs. 2, 4 and 5, connected with the cam, the plates may be separated enough to permit the string of nalls 7 to be "inserted in the device,

or to be withdrawn from the device upwardly, provided the driving head 10 is held down in its bottom position and there is no nail head to engage, as will later appear. The nail-driving rod 5 is reciprocatingly mounted in the guide-way. Its lower or driving end portion is designed to engage the head of a nail, when-the rod is driven downward; .the downward movement of-the rod being determined by a rubber bulfer 14 on the rod, and'positioned there by a ring shoulder 15. A bearing 16, Fig. 7, for the rod in the lower portion of theguide-way 4 allows a slight lateral movement of the driving-head 10, which is rectangular in cross section;.the width of-the head being less than that of the bearing, while its depth is the same as that ofthe bearing. This e11- ables the head to have a sidewise movement, so that when the head is drawn upward and pressed sidewise by a lateral positioning spring 17, the head slips alongthe adjacentface of thenail, as. 11, and over its head, nextv to be driven.

It will be noted. that. in the plane of the string plates 8,.8,.Figs. 8 and.9, there is a guideslot 18, cut in the adjacent-vertical side face -of. the.driving head 10 to receive and holdin alinement the saw -teeth. heads about to be delivered; whilefor th'ereairof the string" of na1ls, is

cut av guide-slot 19, inrthe face of a lip 20', toward which the driving-head ofnails 7, between the-controlling.

constantly tends to move by reason of the lateral positioning spring 17. The bottom of this slot forms an acute angle with the axis of the string-nail guide-way, so that the elasticity of the slightly bent nail string, tends to cause the nail heads to seek the bottom of the guide-slot 18 in the drivinghead. 10.-

A coil spring 21 abutting a shoulder 22 within the guide-way, and a ring shoulder 23 on the driving-rod, always tends to lift and hold the rod in its up or normal position, which is determined by a lug 24 on the rod, contacting a positioning screw 25 mounted in ears 26 on the outsideof the shell member 1.

I have now described the means employed for delivering the nail, but-before it is completely delivered,-it must be severed from its string of nails. To bring about this severance, a cutter lever 27 Figs. 1, 4and 8, is provided. It is pivoted to the frame at 28, and its cutting edge 29 is designed to be moved toward and through the nail 11, and tothe driving-head 10 which becomes seated on the opposite side of the driving-head guideway. This movement is brought about by an operating cam lever 30 pivoted-at 31 to the shell; the cam 32engaging the under side of the rear spring. portion 33 of the cutter lever 27, while its long arm engages the under side of thepositioning. lug 24 on the driving-rod 5. A'spring 34 tends to hold the cutter lever 27 away from the nail string, but in contact with the operating lever cam 30, which, in turn, is held against said positioning. lug 24.

On a screw 40, Figs. 2', 5 and 6, in the lower portion of the frame is slidably mounted, by means of a slot 41, a gage 42. Its lower or guide portion 43 has a slightly curved guiding face in a plane atabout right angles to the plane of movement, say, of the nail-cutting lever 27, and is provided-with slightly upwardly andoutwardlyinclined parallel gripping or welt-lifting grooves 44. The upper' portion of the gage has a-pair of fingers45between which is an adjusting screw 46,- mounted in ears 47011 the side of the shell 2; the fingers engaging a ring channel 48 cut in the shank of the screw 46. Obviously, the slot and the space between the fingers allowthe free endiof the gage to occupy a position either in the transverse plane of the driving end of the nailer, as when restingon the sole as in Fig. 1; or outside, beyond it, as shown in-Figs. 2' and 3. Also by adjusting the screw 46, the gage may be moved on its pivot'screw 40 so that the face 43 of the gage 42. may be secured nearer o1 farther away from the path of nail delivery.

I will now describe the operation of my invention. It is assumed that a line o-f nails is to be driven along; the path indicated in 1. The operator grasps the device as shown, places it in position, and, with a hammer, strikes the leatherwashers 49 on "the head of the driving-rod. 5,, the latter descends, hits the head of the lowestnail 11,

Fig. 8, which moves downward, carrying along with it the string of nails 7 between the friction controlling plates 8, S; but, in its descent, the positioning lug. 24 operates the operating cam lever 30, Fig. 4, and the cutter lever 27, so that'just as the nail leaves the device, it issevered from the string, 111

line with the top. face of the head; the

severed nail continuing its movementuntil its head becomes buried in the material, as the sole of the shoe. It will be here noticed that the cutter has formedthe point of the next nail by so cutting the rear face of the nail as to make an acute angle with the front face, so that, when the nail is driven into the sole, the nail will, in its downward movement, tend also to move in the plane of the rear face of the point, and be clenched by the ironjlast 52, as appears in Fig. 3,

.for example. i

The nail having been driven home, the

impact of the rubber buffer 14, Fig.8,on the shoulder of the device, has been so great, that the driving-rod has been bounced back toward normal position, where it is held by .the retaining spring 21; this normal position being determined, as has already been connecting mechanisn'rreturn to their normal position, as shown. To drive the second and succeeding nails involves simply repetition of the above-described operation.

"Where a series of. nails is to be driven in a line, say'parallel with the edge of the sole of a shoe, the gage 42, Figs 2 and 3, is

set by a proper movement of the adjusting screw 46, so that the line of nails will be properly distanced from-the saidedge, the free end of the gage dropping below the bottom of the device as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. "By the movement of the nailer away from the observer, against the edge ofthe sole 50 and welt 51, not only are the nails in proper alinement, but the welt is lifted into very intimate (contact with the sole, before and while the nails are being delivered and clenched by the last 52.

Should it be desired to use a longer nail, then to adapt the device to a string of longer nails, the positioning screw 25 is moved enough to have the movement of the drivingrod correspond with the length of the longer nail. The cutting mechanism always operates scasonably, once it has been adjusted,

the gage pressing regardless of the length of the nail, because the, cutter lever, operating cam lever and the positioning lug always bear the same relation to each other; the cutting of the nail always happening just as the nail of any length is driven home.

If, for any reason, it is desirable to hasten or retard the instant of cutting, then a cutting adjusting screw 53 can be properly turned to vary the relative position of the surfaces of the contacting cam 32 and the spring portion 33, of the cutting lever 27.

It will be noted that the device has a removably secured hanger 54 whereby the device may remain supported by the hand although the fingers are not grasping it; also that there is provided a thin metal plate 55,

Fig. 1, indicated in dotted lines, to cover the cam lever 30 and the lug 24, to prevent the accidental pinching of the skin of the operator between the eoeperating parts.

It will also be observed that the size and "shape of the device are such that it can be used inside of a boot or shoe; and also that,

by means of an extension rod 60, Fig. 11,

rigidly but removably connected by any suitable means to the driving rod 5, the device can be used on the inside of high boots; orin any other environment in which it may be'useful; the extension rod, instead of the device itself, being grasped and held in one hand.

A modifiedbut preferred form of nailer is shown in Figs. 12 to 16, inclusive, and resides in the means employed in operating the cutting lever 270; it being designed to reduce the extent of surface frictionally e11- gaged between the cam lever 30 and the positioning lug 24, Figs. 1 and 4. This result is attained by having a cam lever 300 pivoted at 310 to the rear end portion of the cutting lever 270, and having a cam 311 engage a cam surface 312, on the frame. By

this arrangement of parts the transverse movement of the cam lever 300 relative to the longitudinal movement of the positioning lug 24 on the nail-driving rod 5, is very much reduced; hence the extent of surface I on the cam lever worn by the lug during the driving operations of the rod, is correspondingly reduced. A spring 340 connected to the shell and the rear of the cutting lever 270, tends to restore the cutting lever and cam lever to normal position.

7 Having now described the structure and operation of my invention, together with its advantages and the various objects attained by it, and desiring to protect said invention in the, broadest manner legally possible,

What I now claim is 1. A nailing device having a channel through which a string of nails may be caused to pass; means in said channel to guide and control said nails in their movements in and through said channel; reciprocable driving means to engage, forcibly ejectthrough which a string of nails may, be caused to pass; means 1n sa1d channel to' guide and control said nails in their movements in and through said channel; means frictionally to restrain the movements of said string of'nails; driving means to engage,

forcibly eject from said device andv drive a nail of said string; cutting means operatively connected to said driving means to sever the driven nail-from the string; and means whereby the driving means may be so moved as to permit an upwardwithdrawal of the string of nails from the device.

a 3. A nailing device having achannel through which a string of nalls may be caused to pass; means in said channel to guide and control said na'ils in their'movements in and through said channel; spring plates frictionally to restrain the movements of said string of nails; driving means to engage, forcibly eject from said device and drive a nail ofsaid string; a cam member to opens-aid plates; cutting means operatively connected to said dr1v1ng means to sever the driven nail from the strmg; and means whereby the driving means may be so moved as to permit an upward withdrawal of the string of nails from the device.

fL'A nailing device having a channel through which a string of nails maybe caused topass;-means in said'channel to guide andcontrol saidnails in their movements in and through said channel; driving means to engage, forcibly eject from said device anddrive a nail of saidstring; cutting means operatively connected with said driving means to sever the driven nail from the string; and adjusting means whereby the driving means and the cutting means may be so connected that the device may drive and cut the nails of strings having different lengths of nails.

5. A nailing device having a channel through which a string of nails may be caused to pass; means in said channel to guide and control said'nails in their movements in and through'said channel; driving means to engage, forcibly eject from said device anddrive a nail of said string; cutting means operatively connected to said driving means to sever the driven nail from the string; and a gage to determine the path of movement of saiddevice along the edge of a sole of a boot or shoe, and 5 to lift and hold the welt'and sole of the boot'or shoe into intimate contact, duringtheprocess of nailmg.

6. A nailing device having a channel through which a string of nails may be caused to pass; means in said channel to guide and control said nails in their move ments in and through said channel; driving means to engage, forcibly eject from said device and drive a nail oflsaid string; cutting means operatively connected to said driving means to sever the driven nailfrom the string; and a movably mounted gage to determine the path of movement of said device along the edge of a sole of a boot or shoe; said gage havingwelt-lifting grooves to lift and hold the welt and sole of the boot or shoe into intimate contact, during the process of nailing.

7. A nailing device having a channel through which a stringtof nails may be caused to pass; means in said channel to guide and control said nails in their movements in and through said channel; driving means to engage, forcibly eject from said device and drive a nail of said string; a cut ting'lever; a cam lever pivotedto the rear of the cutting lever, and operatively; connectedwith said-drivingmeans; and a-cam surface engaged by said cam lever; thecam lever andcam surface being so arranged in relation to the cutting lever and the driving means, as'to reduce the extent of surface on the cam lever, frictionally engaged, by. the driving mean y In testimony whereof I hereunto a-ffix my signature. 7

JOHN P. DUBOSH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing 'the- "Commissioner of lat'ents, Washington, DZ 0. 

